Religious institution.

Details of Site Location: The northeast corner of Bond and Dundas Streets.

Boundary History: The building was 78’ by 90’.

Current Use of Property: Parking lot. [at time of Lost Sites publication. Now a mid-rise apartment building]

Historical Description: The origin of this church may be dated from a meeting of ten men in the home of James Woodhouse on 13 February 1849. Some church meetings followed in this house, located at 241 Yonge Street, and for a short time a roughcast building on the south side of Richmond Street West near Yonge was rented for $100 per year. In February 1863, sufficient money had been raised and the lot at Bond and Dundas was purchased for $2,200. Architect James Smith designed a plain Gothic church. With a change of minister, a drive to build a better structure was launched and $7,000 raised in one night. The new building was to cost $20,000 and was designed by McCaw and E.J. Lennox. Despite the flight of the contractor with funds, the church got built and opened in 1879. It was a spectacular building, seating 2,000 plus standing room. A 21 ft square tower rose 90 ft. Three vestibules gave access to the interior, which followed the Greek Cross plan with four transepts. Tracery ornamented both the exterior and interior in wood and iron. A domed vault contained stained glass. This beautiful building was the third church on the site, but the second was even more short-lived than the first. The third church inspired the design of other city churches. In 1926, the congregation was dwindling and unable to support the huge building. They merged with St. James United and together built a new church on Avenue Road. The Bond Street building was sold to a fundamentalist sect in the 1970s and renamed the Evangel Temple. This group placed the building on the market, but before it was sold, a fire broke out and destroyed the building.

Relative Importance: E.J. Lennox was one of the city’s finest architects, but not one of his four churches has survived despite their important influence.

Planning Implications: The site deserves to be plaqued, commemorating Lennox and the original Congregational church group who commissioned the building.

Reference Sources: John Ross Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto; C.P. Mulvaney, Toronto Past and Present Until 1882 (1884).

Acknowledgements: Maps Project.